When someone believes that something is possible, and someone else does not – both are usually right. We have heard this statement so often before. Maintaining a positive environment is of the utmost importance to reach the go-live mark. Identify the personnel spreading negative vibes and take steps to minimize them. Anyone who does not believe that the go-live is possible should not be on the implementation team.

Ensure that there is an up-to-date project plan throughout the process. Since ERP projects do not always go according to what one initially expects, the project plan may become obsolete every so often. Unless the project manager tries to keep it up-to-date and it reflects the accurate status of all granular activities, it’s going to be difficult for the rest of the team to plan the deliverables. Do not hesitate to re-baseline the project as needed so that you can continuously have a project plan as the one version of the truth.

In many cases, an experienced project manager needs to leverage strategies to either get back on track when things get out of hand, or simply to optimize the project’s progress. It is essential to perform an internal audit to assess the true project status halfway through, and to brainstorm with the project’s key players to consider whether new strategies and actions can be taken to improve the status of the project. Experienced project managers can always uncover numerous strategies as the project progresses to improve its conditions.

It is essential to make use of the Steering Committee for its intended purpose. It is equivalent to the project’s board meeting, where directions and approvals are given. There is a tendency to use this committee as a ceremonial activity; in some cases, the objective is shifted simply to look good. However, it is important that real issues that can be resolved with the involvement of senior management be brought to the table. It is essential that the Steering Committee has confidence that the project management team is in control. The best approach towards achieving this is by having a comprehensive project covering 100% of required activities for the go-live. Showcase your commitment on a granular level by monitoring project activities. You can use a number of cool functionalities among the modern project management tools to get to an almost-online project status; this way, at any given moment, the stakeholders will have an objective status and a clear view of any deviations from the plan. The Steering Committee, being the top-level executives, prefer to manage things by exception.

Once the project plan is complete with all the granular details, the project should be driven by the project manager with daily tracking, taking corrective actions, and providing clarity for the team on the delayed activities and weekly tasks to achieve. The percentage completed should be evidencable. At the peak of the project, it becomes a powerful tool to have a daily project status reporting mechanism—which includes what has been completed, any delayed items, and items to be delivered during the upcoming week—so that the team is well aligned on a daily basis.

Many largescale ERPs involve people from different backgrounds and cultures. Unless one makes a conscious effort to keep the communication among all stakeholders at an optimum level, miscommunication or lack of communication can hamper your project big-time and can be the single reason for failure. Identify if there are any communication breakdowns among team members, and address them concretely. ERP implementation requires multiple workshops, discussions, negotiations, knowledge sharing, etc., which rely heavily on effective communication.

Use meetings, email communications and special sessions to communicate a constant sense of urgency. You are well off if the team is going the extra mile, not because you want them to do so, but because they themselves want the project to succeed. Forcing the team to work extra hours is not sustainable at all; hence, it is of paramount importance to generate team spirit and the highest level of motivation possible. 

Identify if there are any personnel who are dragging down the project. Take corrective actions, such as resource realignment/replacement, promptly. Be sure to handle such interactions diplomatically. ERP is a long journey, which is as equally important as the end result. It is a people game, so use a balanced dose of EQ and IQ in driving home the message.

If the project is a large and complex project, it is mandatory for the project manager to be diplomatic, committed, methodical and high in EQ. He/She should command the respect from all involved parties and be seen as a service-oriented person who would be willing to be on the ground, leading from the front. Modern-day ERPs require project managers to be able to guide the team whenever needed; thus, having project management skills alone does not cut it. To lead a project of a complex nature, it is essential for the PM to be able to guide the team on multiple fronts. Hence, he/she should have adequate knowledge on the ERP being implemented, enough to guide the team and of a sufficient depth to effectively lead a conversation related to the implementation. 

If the right resources are not engaged, reaching the end goal will be impossible. This applies to both vendors and customers. Do not hesitate to change your resources or the resourcing strategy as required. Since manpower is a costly affair, you will need to convince, with evidence, both the vendor’s and customer’s management to bring in the necessary resources as required. Do not hesitate to look at how well your own team fits into the different roles and to make changes as needed.

Sometimes, the customer expects the implementation vendor to handle most of the implementation, and thus takes the backseat. Although it is acceptable for the implementation vendor to initially propel the implementation, the customer should be in the driver’s seat by the time the system is ready for the go-live. It is essential to have clarity on the responsibility matrix right from the beginning and to ensure that the customer plays their role. Your implementation methodology should include ample strategies to get the customer to lead the project hands-on. As the project is being implemented, the ownership and the know-how should be transferred to the customer 100%. 

Program modifications are not only costly upfront, but they are also a future burden to the customer in terms of support and upgrades. Unless managed properly, these can contribute to project delays. If the effort on modifications exceeds 30% of the total project effort, something is terribly wrong. Either you have picked the wrong ERP product or have failed to properly map the product to the requirement. If the gaps are substantial in a business area, it may be a better option to make use of a third-party, best-of-breed product and integrate it to the ERP. Carrying a heavy load of program modifications is a sure way to delay the ERP go-live and to cause a continuous set of headaches post go-live. Classify the gap list and identify the items as showstoppers, high-priority, medium-priority and low-priority, and align the delivery plan accordingly. It is sufficient to include the showstoppers and high-priority items in the initial go-live; the rest can be delivered post go-live, if needed.

Old habits die hard. It is essential to create a compulsion for the users to use the ERP system post go-live. The end users will have a natural inclination to go back to their old ways of doing business. Thus, it is best to identify strategies to turn off these old systems at the point of the go-live, leaving no option for the end users other than getting onto the new system.

The utmost focus should be centered on training and knowledge transfer. Some strategies that can be adopted include ensuring that the customer is leading the testing activities, making an ERP driver’s license a compulsory test to get into the system, and having the Train the Trainer as the training strategy.

Depending on the ERP system, the technical steps required to be performed at the go-live will be different. Hence, you should engage a project manager who is aware of the procedure to follow up the technical process with the necessary checks and balances. Always engage a mock go-live to ensure evidence that the real go-live is working.